Hockey fans who showed up at CN Centre over the weekend to cheer on the Prince George Cougars didn’t have much to get excited about.
Most left the rink disappointed after their hometown Cougars lost 5-2 to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday, then got shut out 3-0 by those same Rockets on Saturday, but there was a group of about 30 Prince George people who had a reason to feel good about the outcomes.
They’re all charter members of the Scott Cousins fan club.
Cousins made his WHL debut in the 2021 B.C. Division pod season and played 13 games for the Rockets and picked up one goal and three assists. His first assist came in the first game that season, April 17 in Kamloops against the Cougars while shorthanded in what ended up a 7-5 Rockets’ win. Cousins scored his goal in his sixth game on April 27 in a 5-1 win over Victoria that stands as the highlight of his WHL career so far. He led a rush into the Victoria Royals’ zone and got the puck back again in the slot off an errant Victoria pass and let go a quick slapshot that deflected in on a high arc off the stick of Royals defenceman Ryan Spizawka.
“It wasn’t the prettiest goal ever, but they don’t ask how, they ask how many,” said Cousins.
The Rockets put Cousins on their protected list after watching him light it up in 2019-20 with the Cariboo Cougars U-16 triple-A team. In 28 games he scored 28 goals and had 29 assists for a league-leading 57 points and was named BC Hockey’s U-16 player of the year. He practiced through the fall and winter of 2020 with the Cariboo Cougars U-18 triple-A squad and was ready to make the jump when the WHL pod season finally got started in April.
In the weekend games at CN Centre, Cousins drew fourth-line duty patrolling the left side with centre Marcus Pacheco and right winger Andrew Cristall. Twice in Saturday’s game Cousins came close to getting in on a scoring play. In the second period, he and Pacheco broke in on a 2-on-1 and the pass attempt from Cousins to his linemate was broken up by a stick lunge from Cougars’ defenceman Jaren Brinson. Cousins also put a shot off the goalpost.
“It was definitely surreal, not every kid gets the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd that he’s been watching his whole life,” said Cousins. “It took it in and embraced it and just soaked every minute of it in.
“I’m a young kid and I’m just going to take what’s given to me and just work with what I’ve got. The weekend went well, I had a couple chances to score that I couldn’t capitalize on, but it’s coming.”
On a talented Rockets team that’s off to an 8-3-1-0 start, he’s played five of their 12 games so far. The Rockets have won six of their last seven games and have climbed into second place in the B.C. Division.
“We have a really good group here, from top to bottom everyone has bought into the system and it’s working for us,” said Cousins. “Our 20-year-olds are just as humble as our 16-year-olds and that makes it a lot easier for us.”
Kris Mallette took over from Adam Foote as Rockets head coach in February 2020 and used the 22-game pod season to get to know his players. He said Cousins, who turned 17 on Jan. 6, drew more icetime than he normally would if it had been a normal season.
“He hasn’t been in the lineup (this season) a whole bunch, but when he is in there and playing to his strengths he can be a real effective on the forecheck, a tenacious player that creates a lot of opportunity with that style of play,” said Mallette.
“I think at this point he’s got to get a little more confidence in making those simple plays in order to gain the trust of the coaching staff, night-in and night-out, and he’s going to get there. He’s going to be a big part of our puzzle as we move forward.”
Cousins is now involved in a 64-game season while completing his final year of high school in Kelowna and he’s learning how to balance the additional workload of being in the WHL with his academic studies.
“It’s exciting for him to come back and see mom and dad (Cheryl and Bill) and friends and family and I was just happy he was able to get in and play some valuable minutes,” said Mallette. “He’ll get opportunity if he does things the right way and realty concentrates and relishes the role he’s been given up till this point. As years progress and as he gets more under his belt, he’ll be fine.
“In talking to his coach from last year (Tyler Brough) it all comes from hard work and not trying to do too much and when he has that opportunity to finish, he has those tools.”
